HD 5970 availability and price?

[pcgamer420]

Does anyone have any idea when the 5970's are going be regularly stocked anywhere, and when the price will come down to MSRP? I really want this card but it seems to only be found on ebay and for hundreds more than MSRP!

 

[qdemn7]

Easiest way to buy a 5970 is sign up with Now in stock.net Then go to the 5970 page over here and sign up for alerts. When one of the 'sites gets stock in, you'll be alerted via whatever method(s) you have chosen. Then you can buy without feeling you're getting ripped off on eBay.

 

[damstr]

Go to newegg.com search for 5970 and keep that page book marked. I'd refresh as much as you can. I've caught them in stock many times. If I would've bought one for every time I've found them in stock i would have like 9-10 now.

 

[Madalienmonk]

But when are they going to be regularly stocked?

 

[McG2k1]

I'll venture a guess that a $700+ video card is never going to be regularly stocked.

 

[qdemn7]

But when are they going to be regularly stocked?

When TSMC can produce enough GPUs.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's largest dedicated independent semiconductor foundry, recently confirmed it has run into new issues with their 40nm process technology that have sent yield rates down to 40%. Major customers for TSMC's 40nm processes include AMD, which just released its Radeon HD 5000 series, and Nvidia, who is expected to launch the GT300 series in December.

Unnamed industry sources have reportedly informed Fudzilla that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC) 40nm yields may not improve until the second quarter of next year. The sources said that yields are currently around 50%, and should be at 90% or higher for such a mature process.

If true, this suggests that the ongoing shortage of AMD's Radeon HD 5000-series graphics cards will continue. Nvidia's highly anticipated Fermi-based products might also be affected, as they are expected to begin volume shipments next quarter, and should hit store shelves by March 2010.

TSMC 40nm yield issues explained

TSMC immediately started developing its 3rd generation manufacturing process on the node. Currently, output for 40nm wafers is 80,000 wafers per quarter, as only Fab 12 is manufacturing these. However, the company vowed it will be able to double that by year’s end, that is, 160,000 wafers per quarter, once Fab 14 is up and running.